Used Volkswagen Rabbit for Sale

I LOVE my Rabbit. I got this car as an early graduation present in high school. It's now a little over 6 years old and I've had no major problems with it. It's compact but doesn't feel tiny when inside. We can fit 5 college-aged adults easily.

The engine in the 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit is responsive and powerful for its size. Gearing of the five-speed manual and the electronic throttle's aggressive programming help the Rabbit jump off the line like a scared, well, rabbit, and the 150-horsepower 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder engine delivers 170 pound-feet of torque. Yet, the Rabbit's fuel economy—often what counts for small-car buyers—is near the back of the pack, with automatic cars rated at 20 mpg city, 29 highway and the manual gearbox adding just 1 mpg. Unlike so many budget-minded cars using numbing electric power-assisted steering, the Rabbit's steering is actually communicative and downright lively. The ride from the 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit is taut, but never jarring. The front struts and independent rear suspension absorb big bumps with nary a crash or bang. Steering feels precise with a good on-center feel. Inside, the Rabbit's front seats give great support. The driver's seat helps you get comfortable with plenty of adjustability, but the controls are in three different locations: fore/aft at the right-front corner of the seat, a lever on the left side that raises and lowers the bottom cushion, and a big knob to change the backrest angle at the left rear of the seat. The quality of the materials is high. The view out is good, but the base of the windshield is rather high, a result of European pedestrian collision standards. The Rabbit four-door has achieved four-star ratings for frontal impact and five-star ratings for side impact from the federal government, but it's a Top Safety Pick from the IIHS, with all "good" scores.

I loved this car for the first few years. Good gas mileage, great safety rating, and pretty good looking. Very spacious for a two door as well, plenty of room for the dogs when the back seats are folded down. This car is not very user friendly when it comes to maintenance and repairs, though. The transmission fluid is sealed, so there's no way of checking it yourself. Doing your own oil change would be difficult. I've had leakage problems with both fluids. Basically, you gotta take this car into the shop for pretty much all routine maintenance, instead of doing it yourself for much cheaper. I still could live with that.... but - My biggest complaint is that the transmission valves were faulty, and they weren't recalled. Apparently VW issued an extended warranty, but I was never notified about it. When it started showing signs of problems, the warranty had run out. There was a class action lawsuit about this as well, but again, I had missed the timeline. Contacted VW of America, and they politely said that I was on my own. So I either have to put thousands of dollars into a badly made car (that they knew had faulty parts in it) or buy a new one. If it weren't for the transmission valve issues, I would still be all for this car, but after this, I don't think I'll ever get another VW.